Answer from Hansard

The Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention (Dame Diana Johnson)

Through the county lines programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs wherever they operate, including in rural areas, as part of our efforts to dismantle the organised crime groups behind that trade. Since the Government took office, the county lines programme has closed over 400 drug lines running across communities in England and Wales. In our manifesto, we committed to going after the gangs that lure young people into violence and crime. At the weekend, we announced that we will create a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the forthcoming crime and policing Bill.